Posts Tagged ‘Kids’

Clark County NV schools are scheduled to start back August 29th. Many staff have already headed back and are preparing their rooms for the new students. It seems like summer flew by. Some parents are getting excited to have a quiet house again during the day, some parents wished for a little more time and the kids? Well, most are ready to see their friends again minus the homework.

The Clark County Schools District has laid out all the back to school information for parents and guardians at ccsd.net. This is a wonderful and extremely user-friendly educational resource! After reviewing the website, it looks like it has everything you need from first day of school forms to dress code policies and lunch menus. It even has a section on how to enroll online as well as a must-have immunizations list. They have made most items available both in English and Spanish. Click under the “Parents” tab and enjoy.

Also, check out the CCSD Highlights for additional interesting reads and articles on students and teachers and alumni who have received local and national awards and recognitions.

Don’t forget to head out now for back to school supplies. Best time to go? Early in the morning before all the ruckus. Forgot your list? No worries. Most office supply stores have school lists on hand.

Did you know that this is the first year in a long while that kids that attend school year round will have the entire summer off? Sounds like party time for the kids but if you’re a parent who cannot take the summer off with your children, the question, “ What will my kids do during the day while I’m at work?” has to be answered. For many, the extra expense of child care or sitters is not an option and many have relied on free day camps for help.

Recent budget cuts in the Clark County School System have resulted in the closing of school buildings for the summer. Where summer camps used to be able to use the buildings for free before, places to host the camps have dwindled as well as the number of summer camps available this year. Less camps, mean less options, which means long waiting lists for other camps that do not utilize the school buildings.

If parents were slow to enroll, chances are their children may not have the opportunity to participate in a summer program at all and parents will have to seek out a more costly option. However, check with the local YMCA before giving up.

The Las Vegas YMCA is currently advertising it’s summer classes, swim lessons and other activities for kids on their website. There is also financial assistance available as well for those that qualify. For more information go to lasvegasymca.org. There are four locations spread around the Las Vegas Valley to choose from.

If you’re a local Las Vegas news watcher then you most likely caught a glimpse of all the latest hype around the Clark County School District and their purchase of the ever so popular iPad. I’ve put together a quick little review highlighting the controversy. Pay attention, there will be a quiz at the end.

The Report.

Over 1 million dollars has been reported to have been spent on the purchase of iPads for the Clark County School District.

At $600 a piece, that’s 1,666 iPads and note I said over 1 million, which means more than that.

Some classrooms were seen using them; educators were solely using others.

There have been substantial budget cuts and this spending seems unjustifiable.

The Result.
Comments were being posted everywhere. Teachers were upset, retired teachers were abhorred and fired teachers were flabbergasted. Some complained that they really just wanted paper for their classrooms. Others ratted out principals with new office furniture. One commentator believed it was better than spending it on books that wouldn’t last anyway. There was no mention of iPads being returned.

The Reason.
Realistically, if someone could answer the question of what the grant money was designated for, I believe much of this could be cleared up unless in fact it was misused.

I recently read an article written by real estate investor Ken Corsini who purchases property throughout Georgia’s metropolitan area. His article, “Do Schools Really Affect Property Values?” documents his findings as to whether or not home values are in fact affected by it’s surrounding schools.

What sparked the research is what often keeps real estate investors successful and ahead of the market: to determine what homebuyers currently take into consideration as opposed to what they wanted in a home five years ago. The results were intriguing.

According to Corsini’s research, property values had little to no decline when located within a highly ranked school district (rankings were one through five, with five being the highest). Research also revealed that homes located within a district of low rank saw substantial decline in home value.

Let’s try to make a correlation with Clark County Nevada schools and current home values. What a minute, it is impossible to do with today’s fluctuating real estate market! What is astounding is everyone has an opportunity to purchase a home in any school district they choose. Because Las Vegas homes’ property values are at extreme lows, parents who are concerned for their child’s education can now make a move to benefit their children’s future with little sacrifice and the right planning.

So where are the best schools in Las Vegas? Answering that question would be inappropriately steering buyers in a particular direction. However, there is a FREE and REPUTABLE resource, greatschools.org available to parents and educators alike. Simply plug the city and state in the search box and you will have access to all the information you need about surrounding schools as well as ratings and comments from others.

We’ll revisit this conversation when the housing market stabilizes a bit and we can obtain accurate statistics.

As spring turns to summer homeowners, communities and swim clubs will begin readying their pools. With the intense 100 degree temperatures in Las Vegas, many homeowners have homes with pools in their backyard. If not, there’s a community pool within walking distance.

According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are an average of 10 deaths a day from unintentional drownings. This statistic is not meant to instill fear but bring awareness. Swim clubs and recreational centers are prepared for this statistic and for the diversity of skill levels of swimmers. They have on-duty lifeguards who have been trained in CPR and water safety. But what about homeowners? Most homeowners take careful consideration when buying Las Vegas homes with pools, but the majority of those homeowners do not receive CPR certifications or water safety trainings with the purchase.

So, here are a few basic tips:

Learn how to swim.

Be alert and aware when children are around ANY body of water.

Have lifesaving devices easily accessible.

Communicate and enforce a simple list of pool rules.

Protect the pool from little wanderers with a 4-ft fence with latching gate.

One more really BIG TIP:

The American Red Cross has teamed up with the National Swimming Pool Foundation to provide an online water essentials course. It includes training in both the maintenance aspects and water safety for pools and/or hot tubs. The 2-hour course is $19.95 and allows 6 months for completion.